-
![]()
Mario Tama / Getty A Better Way to Judge Joe Biden
Some of the qualities that produce a successful presidency don’t receive the attention they should.
-
![]()
Alex Majoli / Magnum Boring Is Better
Biden must prioritize science and durable facts over flimflam.
-
![]()
Andrew Gombert / AFP / Getty Why You Don’t Mess Around With Presidential Transitions
Being president is a tremendously difficult job. Starting the first day without preparation could set up a presidency to fail.
-
![]()
Getty / The Atlantic A Debate Is Much More Than a Fact-Checking Exercise
Why viewers shouldn’t expect moderators to call out every misstatement in real time
-
![]()
Win McNamee / Getty The Slow-Fingered President
Donald Trump has been eager to tweet on many subjects—but notably reticent to emphasize public health.
-
![]()
Alex Maida The Questions That Will Get Me Through the Pandemic
An unexpected routine has helped me regain a sense of control during an uncertain time.
-
![]()
Illustration: Katie Martin; I. Glory / Alamy What Trump Should Have Learned From His Predecessors
Presidents who have successfully navigated crises share a key quality.
-
![]()
Tom Hill / WireImage / Getty John Prine Always Found the Right Words
He wrote about what was there, but also what wasn’t there.
-
![]()
David Ryder / Reuters Spare a Moment for Sorrow
Amid the chaos, take time to grieve our collective losses.
-
![]()
Eric Miller / Reuters What Presidential Announcements Reveal About the Candidates
The speeches present the country’s condition as a puzzle that’s missing one piece, which the candidate can supply.
-
![]()
Jim Young / Reuters Trump’s Hollow Call for Unity
A president who disdains acting presidential is unlikely to achieve much by relying on convention.
-
![]()
How America Broke the Presidency
Two centuries after its design, the president's office is unworkable.
-
![]()
Gregory Reid The Hardest Job in the World
What if the problem isn’t the president—it’s the presidency?
-
![]()
Nick Didlick / Reuters All the Presidents' Dirty Tricks
Politicians have done some grim things in pursuit of the presidency, but there have also been times when people did the opposite: behaving morally when it was easier not to.
-
![]()
Susan Walsh / AP / Zak Bickel / … Donald Trump Is an Impossible Boss
The president's unpredictability undermines his staff, depriving his counselors of the benefits of experience.
/media/img/mt/2020/09/Atlantic_debate_factcheck_v1/original.png)
/media/img/2018/04/1804_The_Atlantic_0133_MAIN_BRACKET_R2.1/original.png)
